Device for punching cards or the like

ABSTRACT

Device for punching cards or the like in which a card is fed stepwise beneath a row of punches which are movable between a rest and a punching position and selectively moved between the positions thereof by selector means comprising a drum having rows of punch-actuating portions. The drum is turnable about its axis, to bring a selected row of punch-actuating portions in alignment with the punches, and movable between an inactive and an active position for engaging and moving selected punches to the punching position.

United States Patent Post et al.

[451 Aug. 1, 1972 [54] DEVICE FOR PUNCHING CARDS OR THE LIKE [72] Inventors: Herman Post; Stephen Prigozy, both of Great Neck; Orrin Millie, Flushing, all of NY.

[73] Assignee: Robins Industries Corporation,

Flushing, NY.

[22] Filed: April 15,1970

21 Appl.No.: 28,708

[52] US. Cl ..234/l00 [51] Int. Cl. ..B26f 1/04 [58] Field of Search ..234/99, 100

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,232,526 2/1966 Gerard ..234/l00 1,347,445 7/1920 Crocco ..234/l00 3,278,117 10/1966 Postetal. ..234/100 Primary Examiner-Frank T. Yost Att0rney-Michael S. Striker 5 7] ABSTRACT Device for punching cards or the like in which a card is fed stepwise beneath a row of punches which are movable between a rest and a punching position and selectively moved between the positions thereof by selector means comprising a drum having rows of punch-actuating portions. The drum is turnable about its axis, to bring a selected row of punch-actuating portions in alignment with the punches, and movable between an inactive and an active position for engaging and moving selected punches to the punching position.

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DEVICE FOR PUNCHING CARDS OR THE LIKE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a device for punching holes in a selected pattern through cards or tapes, in which these holes serve to provide signals for automatic calculating, bookkeeping and other office machines. It is known to punch each of these holes individually by hand according to a selected pattern into a card or the like, but devices are also known which simultaneously punch a row of holes into the card or the like and which automatically feed the card or tape in one direction after each punching operation. The present invention relates to such a device which is likewise hand-operated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide for a device of the aforementioned kind which is composed of a plurality of relatively simple parts so that the device can be manufactured at reasonable cost and will stand up perfectly under extended use.

With these objects in view, the device of the present invention mainly comprises support means having a surface, guide means for guiding cards or the like movable in a first direction along said surface to and beyond a punching station, a plurality of punches mounted at the punching station each movable between a rest position in which one end of the punch is spaced to one side of the aforementioned surface and a card placed thereon and a punching position in which the one end of the punch is located at the other side of the surface and cooperates with a die at the other side of the surface for punching a card placed on the surface, means cooperating with the plurality of punches for biassing the same to the rest position, selector means mounted on support means movable between a plurality of selected positions in which said selector means is adapted to cooperate with the opposite ends of selected ones of the plurality of punches and the selector means is movable in each of the selected positions thereof between an inactive position and an active position in which the selector means engages the opposite ends of the selected ones of the plurality of punches to move the same against the biassing means from the rest to the punching position. The device further includes means cooperating with the card for transporting the same stepwise along the aforementioned surface, and transmission means between the selector means and the transporting means for actuating the latter during each movement of the selector means from the active to the inactive position.

The selector means preferably comprises a drum having a peripheral surface and short punch-actuating portion integral with the remainder of the drum and projecting in substantially radial direction from the peripheral surface. The punch-actuating portions are respectively arranged spaced from each other in direction of the drum axis in a plurality of rows extending in direction of the axis and the plurality of rows are circumferentially spaced from each other.

For ease of manufacturing of the drum, the latter is preferably composed of a plurality of disks each having a width slightly greater than the width of the punch-actuating portions and the latter project circumferentially spaced from each other from the peripheral surface of each disk, and means are provided to align the disks along the axis of the drum and in a predetermined angular position with each other. Preferably, each of the punch-actuating portions has a weakened cross-section connecting the respective punch-actuating portion to the peripheral surface of the disk.

The aforementioned drum of the selector means may be produced by molding a plurality of identical disks, preferably from plastic material, with a plurality of punch-actuating portions uniformly and circumferentially spaced from each other along the whole periphery of the respective disk and by then breaking off different selected punch-actuating portions from each disk at the weakened cross-section so that on each disk there will remain at least one punch-actuating por tion or a plurality of punch-actuating portions respectively uniformly spaced from each other or spaced from each other by gaps corresponding to one or a plurality of punch-actuating portions which have been broken away. The disks are then aligned along a common axis and connected to each other at a predetermined angular position so that the remaining punch-actuating portions on all disks form rows of such portions extending in direction of the axis of the drum and in which the punch-actuating portions in each row are arranged at a different pattern.

Preferably, all punch-actuating portions of each disk which have to be broken away are broken away simultaneously and this operation may be performed in a die having punches selectively arrangeable in holes arranged circumferentially spaced from each other along a circle of a punch holder which has a radius corresponding to the median distance of the punch-actu ating portions from the axis of each disk and in which the holes are spaced from each other corresponding to the spacing between successive punch-actuating portions.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however,

both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a perspective overall view of the device according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the device shown in FIG. 1 with part of the housing of the device removed;

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-section through the device taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a cross-section taken along the line 4-4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a partial cross-section taken along the line 55 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a partial cross-section taken along the line 66 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 7 is a side view drawn to an enlarged scale and showing a ratchet wheel forming part of the transporting means and a feed pawl cooperating with the ratchet wheel;

FIG. 8 is a side view, drawn to an enlarged scale, of a disk for the selector drum before any of the projecting punch-actuating portions have been broken away;

FIG. 9 is a cross-section taken along the line 9-9 of FIG. 8;

FIG. is a side view of punch means to be used for simultaneously knocking off a selected plurality of punch-actuatin g portions from each disk;

FIG. 11 is a partial cross-section through the die cooperating with the punch means of FIG. 10 with part of a disk located on the die and illustrating also one of the punches of the punch means of FIG. 10 ready to knock ofi one of the punch-actuating portions;

FIG. 12 is a top view of the lower part of the punch means shown in FIG. 10;

FIG. 13 is a top view of the die shown in FIG. 11 and drawn to a smaller scale;

FIG. 14 is a partial top view of a card into which a plurality of holes are already punched by the device; and

FIG. is a partial top view of a tape which may be punched by the device.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to the drawings, and more specifically to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the same, it will be seen that the device according to the present invention for punching cards or the like comprises support means including a housing 1 having a guide surface 2 over which cards C or the like are stepwise fed, in a manner as will be described later, to be punched with holes according to a desired pattern. The cards C are placed by hand into the gap between the surface 2 and a guide plate 3 stationaryly mounted slightly upwardly spaced from the surface 2, as best shown in FIG. 2, until the leading one of a row of pre-punched holes 4 in the card C engages one of the radial projections or teeth of a feed drum 6. This feed drum 6 is located downstream of a plurality of punches 7, the center lines of which are arranged in a plane transverse to the feeding direction of the card, and each of which is movable in substantially vertical direction between an upper rest position and a lower punching position in which the lower end of the respective punch 7 has penetrated through the card and entered into holes 8' of a die plate 8 mounted in the housing 1 flush with the surface 2. The punches 7 are guided for vertical movement in the region of the upper ends thereof in appropriate bores of a substantially U- shaped bracket 9 fixed at one end to a side wall of the housing 1 and at the other end to a continuation of the guide plate 3, the downwardly bent right end thereof, as viewed in FIG. 2, is in turn fixed to the bottom wall of the housing 1. The lower ends of the punches 7 are guided in appropriate holes in the guide plate 3.

Means are provided for biassing the punches 7 to their upper rest position and these means, best shown in FIG. 3, comprise a plurality of levers 10, one for each punch, and the front end of each lever 10 is located with vertical clearance in a lateral cut-out 7 formed in each of the punches in the region of the upper end thereof, whereas the rear end of each lever 10 is pivotally mounted by means of a pivot pin 11 mounted in appropriate openings formed in the bracket 9. A corner of each lever 10 formed at the junction of the smaller front portion of each lever with the larger rear portion thereof is engaged by one face of an upwardly extending arm of a leaf spring 12, the lower portion of which is fastened by screws to the plate 3 so that the punches 7 are yieldably held in their upper rest position. As shown in FIG. 2, the punches 7 are respectively arranged in two groups to opposite sides of the projections 5 in the feed drum 6 and in this case a plug 13 may be mounted in the bracket 9 for the only purpose of holding the front ends of the levers 10 adjacent the gap between the two groups of punches in proper engagement in the cut-outs 7' of the respective punches.

The device of the present invention includes further selector means 14 movable between a plurality of selected positions in which the selector means is adapted to cooperate with the upper ends of selected punches 7, and in each of the selected positions between an inactive and an active position in which the selector means 14 engages the upper ends of selected ones of the plurality of punches to move the same against the force of the spring 12 from the rest to the punching position. The selector means 14 comprise a drum 15 having a peripheral surface from which short substantially cube-shaped punch-actuating portions 16 integral with the remainder of the drum project in substantially radial direction. The punch-actuating portions 16 are respectively arranged spaced from each other in direction of the axis of the drum in a plurality of rows extending in direction of the axis and the plurality of rows being circumferentially spaced by small distances from each other. As shown in FIG. 2, some of the punch-actuating portions 16 are transversely spaced small uniform distances from each other and some other of the portions 16 are spaced larger distances from each other, which larger spacing corresponds to at least one cross section of one portion or a multiple thereof. The construction of the drum and the projecting portion 16 thereon is made in such a manner that the arrangement of the projecting portions 16 in each row differs from the arrangement in each other row. To facilitate manufacturing of the drum 15, the same is preferably composed of a plurality of disks 17, each having punch-actuating portions 16 integrally formed therewith spaced in circumferential direction, and the width of each disk 17 corresponds to the width of a portion 16 and the smallest spacing between adjacent portions of a row. The disks are aligned along a common axis and connected to each other in predetermined angular relation and to a boss 18 by screws and/or dowels 19. The drum l5 and the boss 18 are fixedly mounted by means of a set screw 21 on a sleeve 20 which in turn is turnably mounted on the straight portion of a shaft 22 and held on this shaft against axial displacement by a screw 23 and a washer 24. The front or left end portion, as viewed in FIG. 2, of the shaft 22 and the sleeve 20 thereon extend through an elongated cutout 24 in a side wall of the housing beyond the latter and a handle 26 is connected to the front end portion of the sleeve 20 in any convenient manner. The rear portion 22' of the shaft is bent downwardly relative to the main portion thereof, and the free end of the portion 22' is pivoted by means of a pivot pin 27 to a pair of angle brackets 28, only one of which is shown in FIG. 2. The brackets 28 are connected by screws or the like to a side wall of the housing 1, the pivot pin 27 extends through aligned bores in the brackets 28, and part of the portion 22' is arranged between the two brackets.

A spring 29 coiled about the pivot pin 27 and engaging the shaft portion 22' and the brackets 28, in the manner as shown in FIG. 2, resiliently biases the selector means 14 to the inactive position, as shown in full lines in FIG. 2 and by exerting a downward pressure on the handle 26, the selector means may be tilted from the inactive position to the active position indicated in dash-dotted lines in FIG. 2.

The handle 26 serves not only to tilt the shaft 22 about the pivot pin 27, but the handle 26, which is fixedly connected to the sleeve 20, serves also to turn the drum 15 about its axis so that a selected row of punchactuating portions 16 may be aligned and brought in operative position with the upper ends of the punches 7. The axis of the shaft 22 is arranged in one plane with the axes of the punches so that during turning of the drum 15 about the axis of the shaft 22 any row of punch-actuating portions 16 may be brought into operative position by locating a selected row of punchactuating portions 116 into the aforementioned plane directly above the upper ends of the punches 7. To facilitate bringing a selected row of punch-actuated portions 16 in a position for cooperation with the punches 7, an indexing disk 30 having a boss fixed by a set screw 31 to the sleeve is mounted on the sleeve in front of the side wall of the housing through which the sleeve extends. Indicia (FIG. 1) which may comprise numerals, letters, or any other desired indicia, are provided on the front face of the indexing disk 30 angularly spaced from each other according to the circumferential spacing of the rows of punch-actuating portions 16 on the drum 15. A pointer 32 fixed to the side wall of the housing cooperates with the indicia 30' to thereby indicate which row of punch-a0 tuating portions is brought in a position ready to cooperate with the punches.

Releasable locking means are provided for maintaining the drum 15 in any selected position to which it is turned. The releasable locking means comprise an angular leaf spring 33 dimpled in the region of one end thereof to form a projection 33', best shown in FIG. 6, which engages in one of a plurality of elongated cutouts 34 respectively radially aligned with the projecting portions 16 and formed in the right side face, as viewed in FIG. 2, of the drum 15 to thereby hold the latter in the selected angular position to which it is turned by the handle 26. The lower bent end of the leaf spring 33 is fastened by a screw or the like to a block-shaped member 35 fixed in the position shown in FIGS. 2 and 4 to the shaft 22.

The member 35 forms part of the transmission means between the shaft 22 of the selector means 14 and the transporting means, that is the feed drum 6 and the projections 5 formed thereon for stepwise actuating the transmission means during movement of the selector means 14 from the active to the inactive position thereof. The aforementioned transmission means include further an elongated rod 36 mounted for movement in vertical direction in bores formed in the upper portion of the bracket 9 and in the guide plate 3, and a feed pawl in form of a leaf spring 37 fixed by a screw 38 to a ring 39 which by the same screw is fixedly con nected to the lower end of the rod 36. Another ring 40 fixed to the rod 36 beneath the bracket 9 carries in a transverse bore a pin 41 which extends through and is closely guided in a slot 42 formed in the right, as viewed in FIG. 2, side portion of the bracket 9 so as to prevent the rod 36 and the feed pawl 37 connected thereto from turning about the axis of the rod 36. The feed pawl 37 has an upper inturned end 37 which cooperates with the teeth 43 of a ratchet wheel 44 in the manner as best shown in FIG. 7. When during downward tilting of the shaft 22, the member 35 engages the upper end of the rod 36, the latter will be pushed downwardly in the direction of the arrow X against the force of a compression spring 45 sandwiched between the upper surface of the plate 3 and the bottom face of the ring 46 so that the inturned end portions 37 of the springy feed pawl 37 will engage the radially extending flange 43' of one tooth of the ratchet 44 as shown in dash-dot lines in FIG. 7. During upward movement of the member 35 under the influence of the spring 29 connected to the shaft portion 22' as described above, the rod 36 will likewise move in upward direction under the influence of the compression spring 45 so that the ratchet wheel 44 will be turned in clockwise direction as indicated by the arrow Y. The ratchet 44 and the feed drum 6 are fixedly mounted on a shaft 45 so that during turning of the ratchet 44 in direction of the arrow Y, the drum 6 will be turned through the same angle so that the projections 5 on the drum, which engage into the prepunched holes of the card C, will feed the latter stepwise during each turning of the ratchet 44 through a pitch angle.

Cooperating with the ratcher 44 are also holding or adjusting pawl means which comprise a roller 46 mounted in the region between upper ends of a pair of arms 47, the lower ends of which are pivotally connected by means of a pivot screw 48 to a bracket 49. A spring 50 connected to the bracket 49 and to the arms 47, as best shown in FIG. 4, urges the roller 46 in the direction of the arrow Z, as shown in FIG. 7, so that the periphery of the roller will engage the slanted face 43" of one tooth of the ratchet wheel 44. Precise angular position of the ratchet wheel 44 after each stepwise movement by the feed pawl 37 will, since the spring 50 is a rather strong one, actually be determined by the engagement of the periphery of the roller 46 with the slanted face 43" of a respective tooth and during such final turning movement of the ratchet wheel 44 a tip of one tooth will engage the side face of the feed pawl 37 to disengage the upper end thereof from the respective flank 43' as shown in FIG. 7 in full lines. In this end position of the feed pawl 37, which the latter will assume under the influence of the coil spring 45, the

ratchet wheel 44 and the shaft 45 connected thereto may be turned not only in the direction of the arrow Y but also in the opposite direction, and a knob 54 fixed to the end of the shaft 45 which projects beyond the side wall of the housing, as shown in FIG. 2, serves to turn the shaft 45 and the feed drum 6 with the projec tions 5 thereon manually in either direction, which is sometimes desired so as to feed a card C in longitudinal direction independent from the stepwise movement imparted to the card during operation of the punch means.

The card C provided with prepunched small holes 4 adapted to be engaged by the projections 5 of the feed drum 6 may also be provided with transverse lines 4' respectively aligned with the holes 4 and carrying indexes, for instance numerals, 4" on the ends thereof distant from the holes 4, as shown in FIG. 14, and it is sometimes desirable that the holes of one tooth of the ratchet wheel 44. Precise movement by the feed pawl 37 will, since the spring 50 is a rather strong one, actually be determined by the engagement of the periphery of the roller 46 with the slanted face 43" of a respective tooth and during such final turning movement of the ratchet wheel 44 a tip of one tooth will engage the side face of the feed pawl 37 to disengage the upper end thereof from the respective flank 43' as shown in FIG. 7 in full lines. In this end position of the feed pawl 37, which the latter will assume under the influence of the coil spring 45, the ratchet wheel 44 and the shaft 45 connected thereto may be turned not only in the direction of the arrow Y but also in the opposite direction, and a knob 54 fixed to the end of the shaft 45 which projects beyond the side wall of the housing, as shown in FIG. 2, serves to turn the shaft 45 and the feed drum 6 with the projections thereon manually in either direction, which is sometimes desired so as to feed a card C in longitudinal direction independent from the stepwise movement imparted to the card during operation of the punch means.

The card C provided with prepunched small holes 4 adapted to be engaged by the projections 5 of the feed drum 6 may also be provided with transverse lines 4 respectively aligned with the holes 4 and carrying indexes, for instance numerals, 4" on the ends thereof distant from the holes 4, as shown in FIG. 14, and it is sometimes desirable that the holes H to be punched into the cards by the punches 7 are exactly located on the respective line 4. This will require an exact adjustment of the end position the ratchet wheel 44 will assume after each turning through a pitch angle so that the position of the respective projection 5 on the feed drum 6 relative to the plane in which the center lines of the punches 7 are located may be exactly adjusted. In order to obtain such an exact adjustment, the bracket 49, on which the arms 47 which carry the roller 46 are mounted, is pivotally mounted by means of a pivot pin 52 on a bracket 51 (FIGS. 4 and 5) which in turn is fixed to the housing 1 in any convenient manner and a set screw 55 screwed into a threaded bore formed in a bent flange 49 of the bracket 49 engages with its upper end a correspondingly bent flange 51' of the bracket 51, whereas a strong compression spring 56 connected at opposite ends to the bracket 49 and to the bracket 51 holds the upper end of the set screw 55 in engagement with the bottom surface of the flange 51'. It is evident that by turning the set screw 55 in the one or the other direction the angular position of the bracket 49 will be changed from the position shown in FIG. 5 to thereby slightly raise or lower the position of the roller 46 and to thereby adjust slightly the exact end position the ratchet wheel 44 will assume after each turning through a pitch angle, which in turn will slightly adjust the position of the respective uppermost projection 5 of the feed drums to thereby adjust the exact position the card C will assume after each stepwise movement with regard to the center line of the punches 7. To facilitate the turning of the set screw 55, the bottom wall 1' of the housing is provided with a circular opening beneath the set screw 55, which opening may be closed by a cover 57 having a plurality of spring prongs 57' which normally hold the cover 57 in the opening formed in the bottom wall I of the housing. Of course, the aforementioned opening may also be used for discharging punched-out paper scrap from the interior of the housing. The guide plate 3 may be provided with a small window 3' (FIG. 1) through which the indicia 4 are respectively visible. The portions la and lb of the housing are preferably formed from separate parts connected by screws to the reminder of the housing to be easily removable therefrom. A shoe or pressure plate 58 is adjustably connected to the housing la, as shown in FIG. 1 and this shoe which engages the upper surface of a card C will assure proper engagement of the projection 5 with the prepunched holes 4 of the card.

The operation of the above-described device will be obvious from the above description. A card C is fed by hand into the gap between the surface 2 and the guide plate 3 until the leading one of the row of prepunched holes 4 in the card is engaged by an upper projection 5 on the feed drum 6. By then manually turning the knob 54 the cards C can be brought into any desired position in which an indicia 4" provided on the card will appear through the window 3". The handle 26 is then turned until one of the indicia 30' on the index disk 30 will be aligned with the pointer 32. This will bring, as described above, a selected one of a row of punch-actuating portions 16 into alignment with the plane in which the center lines of the punches 7 are located and the drums 15 of the selector means will then be held by the locking means 33 in the position to which it has been turned. Subsequently thereto the shaft 22 on which the drum 15 is mounted will be downwardly tilted about the pivot pin 27 by exerting a downward pressure onto the handle 26 so that those punches 7 which are located beneath the respective punch-actuating portions 16 which have been brought into cooperating relationship with the upper ends of the punches will be moved from their upper rest position to the punching position in which the respective punches penetrate through the card and form holes H therein. During downward movement of the shaft 22 of the selector means, the element 35 will likewise move downwardly, to thereby move the rod 36 in direction of the arrow X, bringing the feed pawl 37 into the position as shown in dash-dotted lines in FIG. 7. After release of the handle 26 the shaft 22 will swing under the influence of the spring 29 in upward direction, whereas the rod 36 and the feed pawl 37 mounted thereon will move under the influence of the spring 45 in a direction opposite to the direction indicated by the arrow X to thereby turn the ratchet wheel and the feed drum 6 through a small angle, to thus feed the card C to the next punching position.

Instead of a card a tape T with prepunched holes 4 may also be used in the device.

Instead of using cards of tapes with prepunched feed holes 4, it is also possible to use the device with plain cards or tapes, in which case an additional punch 7 instead of the plug 13 and corresponding punch actuating portions 16 are provided on the drum 15. This requires, however, a certain skill of the operator at the start of the operation until the first hole punched by this additional punch is engaged by the projection 5 of the feed drum 6.

As mentioned above, the selector drum is preferably composed of a plurality of disks 17 to facilitate manufacturing the drum 15. Each disk 17 is preferably molded from plastic material or die cast from metal with uniformly spaced punch-actuating portions 16 distributed along the whole periphery of the disk, as shown in FIG. 8, and each of the punch-actuating portions 16 is provided on a side face thereof with a number 16' which are arranged in consecutive order about the periphery and in a certain angular position with respect to the pilot holes 59 and 60 formed in the disk during the molding. The elongated cavities 34 are likewise formed during the molding or casting in one side face of the disk and the latter is also provided with a central hole 58. In addition a series of letters 62 corresponding to the total number of disks 17 in the finished drum will also be imprinted during the molding operation on one side face of the disk. As best shown in FIG. 9, each of the punch-actuating portions 16 is formed at the end thereof in which it is joined to the remainder of the disk with two-opposite V-shaped notches 61 to provide at the root of each punch-actuating portion a weakened cross section.

The thus-molded or die cast disks 17 is placed on the upper surface of a die 63, with pilot pins 64 projecting upwardly from the upper die surface located in the pilot holes 59 and 60 that the disk is held in a predetermined angular position on the die. The die 63 is provided on the circumference thereof with a cutting edge 65, as best shown in FIG. 11, which will be located in the V-shaped notches 61 provided at the bottom face of the disk. Cooperating with the die 63 is a punch means 70 which is held in a punch press, not shown in the drawing, in a predetermined angular position relative to the die. The punch means 70 has a lower punch holder part 66 connected by screws to an upper part 66', and the lower part 66 is provided along a circle concentric with its axis with a series of holes 67 uniformly spaced in circumferential direction and each numbered corresponding to the number 16' on the side faces of the punch-actuating portions 16. A plurality of pin-shaped punches 74 are selectively placed in selected ones of the holes 67 to remove during the punching operation selected ones of the uniformly spaced punch-actuating portions 16 on the disk 17 from the latter. For instance if between the punch-actuating portions numbered 1 and 4 a gap of the width of two punch-actuating portions should be provided, then pin-shaped punches 74 are placed into the holes marked 2 and 3, and so on, whereas no punches will be placed in the holes marked 1 and 4 since the corresponding punch-actuating portions 16 which are marked with the same number should remain on the disk. The punching operation is then performed whereby the punches 74 placed in the selected bores 67 of the lower punch member 66 will cooperate with the cutting edge 65 of the die 63 to simultaneously remove selected punch-actuating portions 16 from the respective disk. The punch means 70 is provided with the usual pressure pads 71 urged in downward direction by strong compression spring 72 which will strip the disk from the pin-shaped punches 74 during retraction of the punch means 70. These pressure pads 71 are guided in appropriate bores 69 of the lower punch member 66. The lower punch member is also provided with a row of small bores 68 labelled with letters corresponding to the letters 62 on the disk and during punching of each disk a small pointed punch 75 is located in one of the bores 68 to mark during the punching operation one of the letters 62 provided on the respective disk, thereby indicating the location at which the respective disk should be placed in the drum 15. The punch means is also provided with a central pilot 73 which enters during the punching operation into the central hole 58 of the disk. After selected punch-actuating portions 16 have thus been removed from each of the disks 17, the disks are then aligned in the sequences indicated by the marked letters 62 and the aligned disks are then connected to each other by screws and dowels respectively extending through the bores 59 and 60 with the boss 18 whereafter the thus assembled drum 16 is placed on the shaft 22. In this way a drum 15 with any desired pattern of punch-actuating portions 16 projecting from the periphery thereof may be easily and efficiently manufactured.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together, may also find a useful application in other types of devices for punching cards or the like differing from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in a device for punching cards or the like including a selector drum with short punchactuating portions integral with the drum and arranged according to a desired pattern, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can by applying current knowledge readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention and, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of the following claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. Device for pinching cards or the like comprising support means having a surface; guide means for guiding cards or the like movable in a first direction along said surface to and beyond a punching station; a plurality of punches mounted at said punching station on said support means, each movable between a rest position in which one end of the punch is spaced to one side of said surface and a card placed thereon and a punching position in which said one end is located at the other side of said surface and has penetrated through a card placed thereon, said plurality of punches extending substantially normal to said surface and are located located spaced from each other substantially in one plane extending transverse to said first direction; die means beneath said punches and cooperating with the latter during movement of the same to the punching position; means cooperating with said plurality of punches for biasing the same to said rest position; selector means mounted on said support means turnably about a turning axis located in said plane between a plurality of selected positions in which said selector means is adapted to cooperate with the opposite ends of selected ones of said plurality of punches, said selector means being movable in each of said selected positions between an inactive and an active position in which said selector means engages the opposite ends of the selected ones of said plurality of punches to move the same against said biasing means from said rest to said active position, said selector means comprising a shaft having a first portion extending along said axis and an end portion integral with and extending at an angle to said first portion, said end portion having a free end mounted on said support means tiltable about an axis substantially normal to said first shaft portion, a sleeve turnably mounted on said first shaft portion, a drum mounted on said sleeve for turning therewith and having a peripheral surface and short punch-actuating portions integral with the drum and projecting in substantially radial direction from said peripheral surface, said punch-actuating portions being respectively arranged spaced from each other in direction of the drum axis in a plurality of rows extend ing in direction of said axis and being circumferentially spaced from each other, indexing means connected by said sleeve to said drum for turning therewith for indicating the angular position of said drum relative to said plane in which said punches are located and for aligning a selected row of punch-actuating portions with said punches, further biasing means cooperating with said shaft for yieldingly maintaining the latter on a position in which the punch actuating portions of the drum which are aligned with said punches are out of contact with the aligned punches, handle means fixed to said sleeve for turning said drum and said indexing means to a selected position and for moving the shaft against said further biasing means in a direction in which said punch actuating portions which are aligned with said punches will engage the latter to move the same from said rest to said punching position; means cooperating with the cards for transporting the same stepwise along said surface; and transmission means between said selector means and said transporting means for actuating the latter during movement of said selector means from said active to said inactive position.

2. A device as defined in claim 1, wherein the arrangement of said punch-actuating portions in each row differs from the arrangement of said punch-actuating portions in the adjacent row.

3. A device as defined in claim 1, and including means for releasably locking said drum in any selected angular position.

4. A device for punching cards or the like comprising support means having a surface; guide means for guiding cards or the like movably in a first direction along said surface to and beyond a punching station; a plurality of punches mounted at said punching station on said support means, each movable between a rest position in which one end of the punch is spaced to one side of said surface and a card placed thereon and a punching position in which said one end is located at said other side of said surface and has penetrated through a card placed thereon, said plurality of punches extending substantially normal to said surface and are located spaced from each other substantially in one plane extending transverse to said first direction; die means beneath said punches and cooperating with the latter during movement of the same to the punching position; means cooperating with said plurality of punches for biasing the same to said rest position; selector means mounted on said support means turnable about a turning axis located in said plane between a plurality of selected positions in which said selector means is adapted to cooperate with the opposite ones of selected ones of said plurality of punches, said selector means being movable in each of said selected positions between an inactive and an active position in which said selector means engages the opposite ends of the selected ones of said plurality of punches to move the same against said biasing means from said rest to said active position, said selector means comprising a shaft having a portion extending along said axis, a drum turnably mounted on said shaft portion and having a peripheral surface and short punch-actuating portions integral with said drum and projecting in substantially radial direction from said peripheral surface, said punch-actuating portions being respectively arranged spaced from each other in direction of the drum axis in a plurality of rows extending circumferentially spaced from each other in direction of said axis, indexing means connected to said drum for turning movement therewith for indicating the angular position of said drum relative to said plane in which said punches are located and for aligning a selected row of punch actuating portions with said punches, and means connected to said drum and said indexing means for turning the same to a selected position and for moving said drum at least from inactive to said active position; means cooperating with the card for transporting the same stepwise along said surface, said transporting means comprising a second shaft turnably mounted on said support means downstream of said punches, a second drum mounted on said second shaft for turning therewith and having a plurality of radial projections circumferentially and uniformly spaced from each other and adapted to cooperate with preformed holes in the card, and means for maintaining a face portion of said card in engagement with the peripheral surface of said second drum during transportation of the card; and transmission means between said selector means and said transporting means for actuating the latter during movement of said selector means from said active to said inactive position, said transmission means comprising a ratchet wheel fixed to said second shaft and including a plurality of teeth each having a substantially radial extending face and a slanted face, and feed pawl means comprising a pawl in form of a leaf spring having a face engaging the tips of said teeth of the ratchet wheel in a first position of said leaf spring, and an inturned free end engaging said substantially radially extending face of a tooth in a second position of said leaf spring, resilient means cooperating with said leaf spring for yieldably maintaining the same in said first position, means carrying said leaf spring in the region of said other end for movement between said positions, and actuating means on said first shaft and cooperating with said carrying means for moving said leaf spring to said second position each time said selector means are moved to said active position.

5. A device as defined in claim 4, and including holding pawl means comprising a roller engaging the slanted face of a respective tooth when said leaf spring is in said first end position, means mounting said roller for movement toward and away from said ratchet wheel, and spring means cooperating with said mounting means for biasing said roller into engagement with said slanted face of a respective tooth.

6. A device as defined in claim 5, wherein said mounting means comprise a first arm mounted in the region of one end thereof on said support means for tilting movement about an axis substantially parallel to the axis of said second shaft, a second arm pivotally mounted at one end at the other end of said first arm, said second arm carrying said roller in the region of the other end and means cooperating with said first arm for adjusting the angular position thereof.

7. A device as defined in claim 5, and including means connected to said second shaft for turning the same and said second drum fixed thereto independent of the movement of said selector means.

8. A device for punching cards or the like comprising support means having a surface; guide means for guiding cards or the like movable in a first direction along said surface to and beyond a punching station; a plurality of punches mounted at said punching station on said support means each movable between a rest position in which one end of the punch is spaced to one side of said surface and a card placed thereon and a punching position in which said one end is located at the other side of said surface and has penetrated through a card placed thereon; die means beneath said punches and cooperating with the latter during movement of the same to said punching position; means cooperating with said plurality of punches for biasing the same to said rest position, said biasing means comprising a plurality of levers, one for each punch, each tiltably mounted on one end thereof on said support means and each connected at the other end to the respective punch, and a single leaf spring engaging said levers to yieldably maintain the same in a position in which the punches connected thereto are held in said rest position; selector means mounted on said support means movable between a plurality of selected positions in which said selector means is adapted to cooperate with the opposite ends of selected ones of said plurality of punches, said selector means being movable in each of said selected positions between an inactive and an active position in which said selector means engages the opposite ends of the selected ones of said plurality of punches to move the same against said biasing means from said rest to said punching position; means cooperating with the card for transporting the same stepwise along said surface; and transmission means between said selector means and said transporting means for actuating the latter during movement of said selector means from said active to said inactive position.

9. In a device forpunching cards or the like by punches movable from a rest to a punching position, a drum comprising a plurality of discs each having a peripheral surface and short punch-actuating portion projecting in substantially radial direction circumferentially spaced from each other from the peripheral tuating portions having a weakened cross-section adjacent to the periphery of the respective disc; and means to align said discs along the axis of said drum in a predetermined angular position with respect to each other.

10. A drum as defined in claim 9, wherein each of said disks is provided on side face thereof with a plurality of cavities respectively aligned with said punchactuating portions.

11. A drum as defined in claim 9, wherein each of said punch-actuating portions is provided on a side face thereof with an indicia and wherein each of said disks is provided with two bores parallel to the drum axis, and aligning means extending through said bores for aligning punch-actuating portions having the same indicia in direction of said axis. 

1. Device for pinching cards or the like comprising support means having a surface; guide means for guiding cards or the like movable in a first direction along said surface to and beyond a punching station; a plurality of punches mounted at said punching station on said support means, each movable between a rest position in which one end of the punch is spaced to one side of said surface and a card placed thereon and a punching position in which said one end is located at the other side of said surface and has penetrated through a card placed thereon, said plurality of punches extending substantially normal to said surface and are located located spaced from each other substantially in one plane extending transverse to said first direction; die means beneath said punches and cooperating with the latter during movement of the same to the punching position; means cooperating with said plurality of punches for biasing the same to said rest position; selector means mounted on said support means turnably about a turning axis located in said plane between a plurality of selected positions in which said selector means is adapted to cooperate with the opposite ends of selected ones of said plurality of punches, said selector means being movable in each of said selected positions between an inactive and an active position in which said selector means engages the opposite ends of the selected ones of said plurality of punches to move the same against said biasing means from said rest to said active position, said selector means comprising a shaft having a first portion extending along said axis and an end portion integral with and extending at an angle to said first portion, said end portion having a free end mounted on said support means tiltable about an axis substantially normal to said first shaft portion, a sleeve turnably mounted on said first shaft portion, a drum mounted on said sleeve for turning therewith and having a peripheral surface and short punch-actuating portions integral with the drum and projecting in substantially radial direction from said peripheral surface, said punch-actuating portions being respectively arranged spaced from each other in direction of the drum axis in a pluralitY of rows extending in direction of said axis and being circumferentially spaced from each other, indexing means connected by said sleeve to said drum for turning therewith for indicating the angular position of said drum relative to said plane in which said punches are located and for aligning a selected row of punch-actuating portions with said punches, further biasing means cooperating with said shaft for yieldingly maintaining the latter on a position in which the punch actuating portions of the drum which are aligned with said punches are out of contact with the aligned punches, handle means fixed to said sleeve for turning said drum and said indexing means to a selected position and for moving the shaft against said further biasing means in a direction in which said punch actuating portions which are aligned with said punches will engage the latter to move the same from said rest to said punching position; means cooperating with the cards for transporting the same stepwise along said surface; and transmission means between said selector means and said transporting means for actuating the latter during movement of said selector means from said active to said inactive position.
 2. A device as defined in claim 1, wherein the arrangement of said punch-actuating portions in each row differs from the arrangement of said punch-actuating portions in the adjacent row.
 3. A device as defined in claim 1, and including means for releasably locking said drum in any selected angular position.
 4. A device for punching cards or the like comprising support means having a surface; guide means for guiding cards or the like movably in a first direction along said surface to and beyond a punching station; a plurality of punches mounted at said punching station on said support means, each movable between a rest position in which one end of the punch is spaced to one side of said surface and a card placed thereon and a punching position in which said one end is located at said other side of said surface and has penetrated through a card placed thereon, said plurality of punches extending substantially normal to said surface and are located spaced from each other substantially in one plane extending transverse to said first direction; die means beneath said punches and cooperating with the latter during movement of the same to the punching position; means cooperating with said plurality of punches for biasing the same to said rest position; selector means mounted on said support means turnable about a turning axis located in said plane between a plurality of selected positions in which said selector means is adapted to cooperate with the opposite ones of selected ones of said plurality of punches, said selector means being movable in each of said selected positions between an inactive and an active position in which said selector means engages the opposite ends of the selected ones of said plurality of punches to move the same against said biasing means from said rest to said active position, said selector means comprising a shaft having a portion extending along said axis, a drum turnably mounted on said shaft portion and having a peripheral surface and short punch-actuating portions integral with said drum and projecting in substantially radial direction from said peripheral surface, said punch-actuating portions being respectively arranged spaced from each other in direction of the drum axis in a plurality of rows extending circumferentially spaced from each other in direction of said axis, indexing means connected to said drum for turning movement therewith for indicating the angular position of said drum relative to said plane in which said punches are located and for aligning a selected row of punch actuating portions with said punches, and means connected to said drum and said indexing means for turning the same to a selected position and for moving said drum at least from inactive to said active position; means cooperating with the card for transporting the same stepwise along said Surface, said transporting means comprising a second shaft turnably mounted on said support means downstream of said punches, a second drum mounted on said second shaft for turning therewith and having a plurality of radial projections circumferentially and uniformly spaced from each other and adapted to cooperate with preformed holes in the card, and means for maintaining a face portion of said card in engagement with the peripheral surface of said second drum during transportation of the card; and transmission means between said selector means and said transporting means for actuating the latter during movement of said selector means from said active to said inactive position, said transmission means comprising a ratchet wheel fixed to said second shaft and including a plurality of teeth each having a substantially radial extending face and a slanted face, and feed pawl means comprising a pawl in form of a leaf spring having a face engaging the tips of said teeth of the ratchet wheel in a first position of said leaf spring, and an inturned free end engaging said substantially radially extending face of a tooth in a second position of said leaf spring, resilient means cooperating with said leaf spring for yieldably maintaining the same in said first position, means carrying said leaf spring in the region of said other end for movement between said positions, and actuating means on said first shaft and cooperating with said carrying means for moving said leaf spring to said second position each time said selector means are moved to said active position.
 5. A device as defined in claim 4, and including holding pawl means comprising a roller engaging the slanted face of a respective tooth when said leaf spring is in said first end position, means mounting said roller for movement toward and away from said ratchet wheel, and spring means cooperating with said mounting means for biasing said roller into engagement with said slanted face of a respective tooth.
 6. A device as defined in claim 5, wherein said mounting means comprise a first arm mounted in the region of one end thereof on said support means for tilting movement about an axis substantially parallel to the axis of said second shaft, a second arm pivotally mounted at one end at the other end of said first arm, said second arm carrying said roller in the region of the other end and means cooperating with said first arm for adjusting the angular position thereof.
 7. A device as defined in claim 5, and including means connected to said second shaft for turning the same and said second drum fixed thereto independent of the movement of said selector means.
 8. A device for punching cards or the like comprising support means having a surface; guide means for guiding cards or the like movable in a first direction along said surface to and beyond a punching station; a plurality of punches mounted at said punching station on said support means each movable between a rest position in which one end of the punch is spaced to one side of said surface and a card placed thereon and a punching position in which said one end is located at the other side of said surface and has penetrated through a card placed thereon; die means beneath said punches and cooperating with the latter during movement of the same to said punching position; means cooperating with said plurality of punches for biasing the same to said rest position, said biasing means comprising a plurality of levers, one for each punch, each tiltably mounted on one end thereof on said support means and each connected at the other end to the respective punch, and a single leaf spring engaging said levers to yieldably maintain the same in a position in which the punches connected thereto are held in said rest position; selector means mounted on said support means movable between a plurality of selected positions in which said selector means is adapted to cooperate with the opposite ends of selected ones of said plurality of punches, said selector means being movable In each of said selected positions between an inactive and an active position in which said selector means engages the opposite ends of the selected ones of said plurality of punches to move the same against said biasing means from said rest to said punching position; means cooperating with the card for transporting the same stepwise along said surface; and transmission means between said selector means and said transporting means for actuating the latter during movement of said selector means from said active to said inactive position.
 9. In a device for punching cards or the like by punches movable from a rest to a punching position, a drum comprising a plurality of discs each having a peripheral surface and short punch-actuating portion projecting in substantially radial direction circumferentially spaced from each other from the peripheral surface of each disc and having each a width smaller than that of the respective disc, each of said punch actuating portions having a weakened cross-section adjacent to the periphery of the respective disc; and means to align said discs along the axis of said drum in a predetermined angular position with respect to each other.
 10. A drum as defined in claim 9, wherein each of said disks is provided on side face thereof with a plurality of cavities respectively aligned with said punch-actuating portions.
 11. A drum as defined in claim 9, wherein each of said punch-actuating portions is provided on a side face thereof with an indicia and wherein each of said disks is provided with two bores parallel to the drum axis, and aligning means extending through said bores for aligning punch-actuating portions having the same indicia in direction of said axis. 